Receding or disappearing caster or roller



' Oct. 9, 1

H., A. BUCKERT ET AL RECEDING OR DISAPPEAR ING CASTER OR ROLLER FiledNov. 23, 1925 W MW m fir .n 6 f m 4 m2 M5 raised above the floor whennominali Patented Get. 9,

i, 1 6 P T; f

HOMER A.. BuoKEnnoFs'r. Louis, AND EARL K. HALL, or UNIvERsIrYoiTY; v

. i MISSOURI;

i BECEDING on nisarrnanme'casrna OER-omen,

Application filed November Our invention relates to fin'iproven'ients inreceding or disappearing casters or rollers, and has for its prin' a'ryobject ac'aster or roll er for furniture, fixtures, furnishings, crates,cases, ,etc. and which is designedto. support the articlein such mannerthat itwil-l be I v i loaded so as towpermit it to be readily movechbutupon any additional weight. being placed thereon the casters or rollerswill recede or disappear into the support so that the major weight ofthe loaded article ill be carried by itssupport. 1 I p Our de'viceisespecially useful for automobile creepers and the like, in that itpermits the casters or rollers to move up into the body or base when anyexcessive; weight 'hasbeen placed thereon, such as in the case an auto--mobilefruns over the creeper. This permits the body of the creepertosink to the floor and contactsolidly therewith so that the vehicle canpass over the creeperwithout. breaking V the body thereof, and as soonas the vehicle has passed, the creeper will be raised trom the floor dueto the projection of the casters or rollers. This makes our deviceespecially use: ful for garage and repair shop uses as'it has frequentlyhappened that with the old style of creeper, the mechanic neglected toremove the same to a secured place and a vehicle passthereover wouldabsolutely ruin the creeper because the body portion thereof was rigidlysustained at apredetermined distance'above the floor. Our device,however, absolutely obviates any of this trouble.

A still further objectis to equip furniture of any kind, whether forhome, oftice or face tory use, with casters or rollers so constructedthat upon the article itself becoming weighted, for any reasonwhatsoever, the casters will recede or disappear or rather be pushed upinto the support that a firm foundation will be Liven the article, thusobviatin anv )ossii lbility of the casters or rollers, or he supports inwhich they are mounted, becoming broken and consequently useless.

Bythe use of our device any article may be mounted on casters or rollersso as to permit it to be readily moved about but at the same time, whenany added weight other than that predetermined, is sustained by thearticle the casters or rollers will move-upward into the support so thatthe article will have a solid.

and firm foundation but. when the weight on the article is removed, thecasters Wlll auto- 23, 1925. serial-no. 70,824;

matically resume their function. This makes our device especiallyapplicable to chairs,filrug cabinets, bookcases, and sim lar-art cles,because none of bllQSBfiltlClGSillQ' to moved while excessively loadedbut, as soon asthe excess load is removed, the casters willautomatically intojoperation and permit ready moving the article. Inshort,or ir.device is designed to be applied to any article whichrequires moving and which jisl designed to carry a variable load so thatwhen the excess load is ,rei'noved, the casters or rollers, whichareresiliently; mounted, will-be forced downward and come into act-ion'but, assoonas any load is placed on the article,they,will recede ordisappear and the load be supported by the article itself. 1 p 1 4 .V

The drawingis a fragmental vertical sectionof our caster as secured in asupport. In

the drawing we'.,h ave}jshown a housing 27,

which is seated'ina support 28, The'housing f is provided w thia centralopening 2-9 through which the shankv30rprojects and which opening issufficiently large to permit the shank to tilt when the roller recedesinto "the housmg. I

Surrounding the shank 30 is a plate 31, which may, or may not beprovided with bearing balls 32 and which is provided with downwardlyprojecting ears 83. Mounted between the ears 33 is a bifurcated arm 34,the lower end of which carries a'roller 35. 30 is also carried by thisarm and extends through the opening in the plate 31, which opening isofthe same diameter approximately as thediameter of the opening 29.

Interposed between theplate 31 and arm 34; is spring 36. whichpreferablysurrounds the slank 30 although this is notnecessary, thenormal tendency of the spring being to ditional weight rests thereon.The bearing balls 32 when. used permit the plate 31 to swivel readilyand thus carry the roller with it so that the article can be easilymovedin any d1rect1on,the principal object being to provide anymovablearticle. either household, olfice or factory. with a roller meansresiliently mounted, said roller means permit ting the article to befreely moved about iii:

The shank under its own or a predetermined weighabut, I

as soon as any additional weightother than that predetermined is placedfonthe article,

this additional weight will cause the article to sink down and rest onits supports so that at no time will the casters or rollers support thisoverweight, and by our construction all breaking of the rollers orcasters or their breaking out of the supporter their collapse due toadditional weight being placed on the article is eliminated, but at thesame time any article supplied with these receding or disappearingcasters or rollers can be readily moved about after the excess weighthas been removed.

Having fully described our invention, What weclaim is l 1. In a deviceof the class described a support having a recess therein, a-housinglocated in said recess, a plate rotatably mounted in said-housing, anarm pivotally secured at one end to said plate, a roller carried by theapposite end of said arm, a shank carried by said arm and extendingthrough said plate and housing, and means located between said arm andsaid plate and surrounding said shank for normally causing said rollerto proj ect'below saidhousing.

2; In a device of the class described a support having a recess therein,a housing located in said recess, a plate rotatably mounted in saidhousing, an arm pivotally secured at one end to said plate, a rollercarried by the opposite end of said arm, means located between said armand said plate for normally causing said roller to project below saidhousmg, and means for limiting the projection of i the roller.

8. In a device of the class described a sup- I port provided with arecess 1n.1ts underneath surface, a housing opened at its bottom locatedin said recess, an arm pivotally secured at one end located iii-saidhousing, means for rotatably securing said arm in' said housing, a

roller carried by the free end of said arm and 1 adapted to normallyproject below said housing and support,'and resilient means within saidhousing for yieldingly holding said roller in. normally projectedposition.

7 4. In a device of the class describeda sup-c port provided witharecess 1n its-underneath surface, a housing opened at its bottom locat-HOMER A. BUGKERT. EARL HALL.

of projection

